Oma & Opa's 40th Wedding Anniversary

The best way to tell a story is by photographs.  These wonderful photos were taken by Leah Steiger, Photographer at Memento Vita and Owner at Life of the Party!  Love this lady and love her work!  Only her talent could make these old lovers look so good!

Our party planner, Hannah, was really able to capture the Old Irish ambiance.

Hannah made the tables look very special and festive.

The bar before the invasion of “Irish” drinkers.
You can witness the Irish rain in the background.

This photo is a tad symbolic!

Leah is quite artiest.  

As you can see, Oma and Opa dressed the part!

This is one of Oma’s favorite photos.

This cake is from the Albertson’s in Temecula – it was perfect!

The guests were entertained by the Lacemakers! They were wonderful!

Opa acting very Irish & very silly!

Opa with his old friend Clete.  Clete was Opa’s High School Woodshop Teacher!

This is our Casino group – we go Valley View every month.

We brought out the toasting glasses we used forty years ago!

Reef Indy and his Dad getting ready for the festivities.

Three generations of Smiths sporting their kilts (from SportKilts).

The Irish Smith Family.

Mr. & Ms. Smith – 40 Years of Love and Understanding.

Oma with her youngest!

Reef and Opa Play!

Ready for the Champagne Toast.

The presence of our friends and family made the event splendid.

Opa and Oma cut their cake.

Picture Perfect Tender Moment.

Opa is such a gentleman!

The Lacemakers played Opa’s special request song,
Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly.”

Oma and Opa enjoy their special song!

Yup, it turned into that kind of a party;
the Bartender lines-up the Irish Car Bombs.

Oma thought the Irish Car Bombs were hard to drink but oh so tasty.

Dad takes  his turn tossing Reef Indy into the air.

The look of love – Nancy & Jan!

Reef Indy had a great time!

Reef's Daddy did an awesome toast to his parents:

I'd Like to thank everyone for being here to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of my mom and dad's wedding. As we all know my dad is Irish and my mom is Dutch-Indonesian; so lets thank them for picking and Irish Theme party because if it was a Dutch Themed party, you'd all be paying your way out!

As long as I can remember these two people were the ones who held me back from complete failure. Though it was hard at times on them and me; they always did the right thing. Until their 40tth anniversary, when the made me wear a kilt! They are the reason I am the man I am today - Good or Bad. They have become a very good set of Omas and Opas also. My Mom and Dad are a true example of love! I can see it in their eyes every time I see them look at each other. they are a great example of what I look forward to in my Marriage.

Let's lift our glasses: To you Oma and Opa Mom and Dad I love both of you very much. Here is to 40 more!!!

Gosh really this was over 40 years ago!?!

Had to post this photo of me and my then boyfriend Paul Smith . 

Gosh really this was over 40 years ago!?!

Take Him Out To The Ball Game!

Dad, Reef Indy, and Cousin Belle "Tailgate"

Reef Indy went to his first baseball game today. Being of a mixed union (Mom is a Cardinals’ fan while Dad is a true blue Padre), Reef’ wardrobe was an amusing mixture of blue and red!

Shelby Miller and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, and Oscar Taveras hit a two-run homer for the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Reef’s Grandma was very pleased with the outcome.

***********

As a side note, after scrutinizing the rules posted on the Padre website, we decided to buy tickets for the grassy hill. The rules clearly stated that umbrellas were permissible during warm weather. Attempting to pass through the gates, we were interrogated by a rather rude lad in a security outfit. He stated that he did not care what the rules specified; we could not bring in the umbrella. He suggested Oma take it up with customer services.

Dad brought the umbrella back to the car. . . . not a short walk. In the interim, Oma explained the situation to customer services and he agreed that the umbrella was allowable. So poor Dad and Opa went back to the car to get the umbrella.

However, things did not go smoothly still! They were hassled going out of the park and harried again going into the park. By the time they were allowed to enter with the umbrella, poor Dad and Opa missed most of the game.

Even worst; due to the lack of shade, unfortunate Reef Indy went home with a farmer’s tan. Luckily an application of fresh aloe prevented a burn.

Moral of the story is . . . . . do not sit in the grass on sunny days???? . . . . the Padres do not care about the health of their young fans??? . . . . do not believe what you read on the Padre website??

Not really sure what the moral is, but it will be a while before I return to Petco Park. We did not even get an apology!

Reef Indy enjoying his after-game
spaghetti at Filippi's Pizza Grotto.

Quick trip to the mall to get ready for Oma & Opa's 40th.

How was your morning?

How was your morning? This little bundle of energy made mine wonderfully busy!

AKVIS OilPaint Review (#akvis)

AKVIS OilPaint is photo to painting software that creates oil paintings from photographs. The characteristic feature of the program is a unique algorithm of the artistic application of brush strokes that authentically reproduces the technique of the real brush.

The transformation happens before your eyes: the program authentically reproduces the technique of the real brush creating a work of art that looks like a handmade oil painting.

The software is available as a standalone program and as plugin for photo editors, in versions for Windows and Macintosh. The functionality of the program depends on the license type.

Oma found the software easy to learn and use. It only took about fifteen minutes for Oma to do the sample below. AKVIS OilPaint provides a stable performance, was speedy, and supports a large number of formats. The Text tool was a tad strict but overall Oma was pleased with the variety of options offered.

Photo Before

Painting After

Even if you are not a professional painter you can create your own masterpiece! Just use AKVIS OilPaint to turn a regular photo into an oil painting. The mysterious production of a painting happens right before your eyes. The program creates a work of art that looks like a handmade oil painting.

Click here to learn more about AKVIS OilPaint

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.